Shriker
Appearance * Egg Shriker eggs are usually in a dark green color and in an oval shape. They feature rows of spikes to blend in with their environment and scare off predators. The spikes are faced the other way when a Shriker is laying a leg so that it doesn't end up killing the parent. The parent will then stick the egg on thorns to wait for it to hatch. In some cases, the eggs don't develop properly and delivery for it is hard. Because of this some Shrikers die of pain and exhaustion. * Hatchling Baby Shrikers are blind when they first come out of the egg shell. They cannot see nor fend for themselves and can only wait for their parents to bring food to them. However, they have several tiny spikes on them that helps them camouflage. * Teen Teen Shrikers are now ready to start flying. They have gained vision and larger wings for flight. At around this age parents will teach their offspring to hunt for themselves. They bring them along on hunting trips so that they can get first hand experiance. Once the Shriker parent has noticed that they are capable of surviving on their own, they force the teen to leave and start a new life of their own. * Adult Adult Shrikers are solitary dragons and only meet during mating seasons. They are either grey or dark green in color and have long talons to puncture flesh and armor. Once they've captured prey, they'll use their sticky black goo to stick them to the thorns. The goo does not heal the prey item but it does kill bacteria so it can keep the Shriker's food fresh for consuming. Abilities * Goo spit: The Shriker can spit a very sticky black goo that is very hard to remove. Not even fire can burn it so most of the time victims of the Shriker never escape. If taped to the mouth certain dragons would suffocate. Surprisingly, this goo can also be used as a sort of medicine. The contents of the goo rapidly kill germs and bacterial infections so the Shriker's prey can stay fresh. When applied to a wound, it not only prevents the injured person/dragon to stay healthy but it also helps them heal faster. * Talon strike: The Shriker's most infamous weapons, the talons that can grow up to 8 ft long. These talons can pierce tough armor easily and rip gashes in the skin of large dragons. Though their power is meant for killing, the Shriker is an extremely gruesome dragon that keeps its struggling food alive until the time of the feast. They injure the dragon, usually breaking an arm or leg to ensure they don't escape, then they spew black goo all over it, trapping it even further. The black goo keeps the food fresh. * Dive bomb: Shrikers can tuck their head close to their wings and dive bomb larger prey. Their backs and wings are covered in these spikes that can easily skewer a Scatterfang. They dive from high places and then slam! The prey is suddenly filled with bloody holes and is being taken away by the carnivorous beast. These are usually killing blows, which means that if a Shriker is dive bombing, it wants something dead. * Poison/Immunity: Shrikers often eat poisonous dragons, and over time they became poisonous themselves. The poison resides in their talons and spikes, waiting to be utilized. They are also immune to certain poisons, but not sleeping poisons. One of the Shriker's main enemies is the Slumberclaw, a dragon that shoots spikes filled with sleeping poison. Combat Strength Shrikers are relentless attackers, they will do anything in their power to survive and destroy the foe. The Shriker's main method of attack is to stick their enemy with the black goo and then dive bomb at full speed. This is an extremely dangerous attack and you're doomed if you were going to be attacked by an adult Shriker. Shrikers are so feared that only the bravest of hunters would dare enter a Shriker's den and capture it. Most of the time they come back empty handed, with several of their men dead or injured. Sometimes no one comes back and it will forever strike fear into hunters. Weaknesses * Greed The Shriker takes all chances when it comes to terms on catching prey. They only refrain from attacking if the prey item is too big to bring home. But any small prey item, dead or alive will be snatched up by the Shriker and later consumed. If you inject a boar with sleeping drugs and place it in Shriker territory, the dragon would grab it and place it in its den. After it is hungry it will eat the boar and then fall asleep because of the drugs in the boar. This tactic is often used by the hunters but it can fail since it might take some time before the dragon eats the drugged item. * Slumberclaws Shrikers do have predators and those are Slumberclaws. Shrikers are immune to poison/venom but they aren't immune to sleeping poison. A group of Slumber claws could easily take on a single Shriker. Shrikers are always shown to have beef with Slumberclaws. * Injury Once a Shriker breaks their talons, hunting would become more difficult. If their weapon is blunt, they would be unable to punture flesh and create wounds to weaken their prey. Category:Dragon species Category:Sharp Class dragons